With the recent update from the Irish Government, including specific guidelines for religious services, we will be returning to hybrid church with in-person and online church available from Sunday 16th May 2021.
We are SUPER excited that after 5 months of not meeting physically for our church gatherings we can start to meet again. The key to living in a ‘Covid world’ is to be ‘physically distanced but socially connected’. We need to protect ourselves and others physically but work extra hard at being socially and relationally connected. We have always wanted Christ City Church to be a place where anyone can belong and feel welcome, a place of joy, fun, laughter, social interactions and encountering God together. We are excited that we can start to experience this again physically after such a long time online.
That said, things will be different and when things are different we have lots of questions. These questions are not to be avoided and don’t need to be threatening. Questions let us clarify what we think and what is going on in our hearts.
In this blog post I want to try and pre-empt some questions to bring clarity at this time. And where there are still questions, we want to give you space to ask them (please do post comments on this blog or community Facebook group or email hello@christcitychurch.ie).
In our previous blog posts we have tried to give guidance on a number of practical and pastoral issues, so please do read these if you haven’t already:
- The principles and posture of our transition
- Faith, Hope & Love for the bumpy road ahead
- Covid restrictions, the prodigal sons & your heart
- The guidelines for physical meetings
- Team guidelines – email vanessa@christcitychurch.ie
With all these in place, here are some questions you might have…
(1) What if I disagree?
If this is you, we ask you to do two things. Firstly, consider what it means to submit to the leadership team and the decisions being made. Not everyone will be happy with every detail, but part of Christian community is ‘bearing with each other’ (Ephesians 4:2) and ‘respecting our leaders’ (Hebrews 13:17).
Secondly, if you feel something is very wrong (and not just personal preference) please speak to one of the staff team or leadership team. We’re all in this together and we need to work together, even in disagreements.
(2) What if it feels weird/pointless as I act differently outside of church?
Outside of the church services you might have chosen to act differently and created different ‘bubbles’ within your wider family and closer friends where you choose to hug or shake hands and have physical contact. It might therefore feel very strange to you when in a church context you are asked to act differently (sit apart or not hug etc).
We appreciate this is challenging and not an easy experience, but we ask that you honour the guidelines for the sake of the safety of the wider community. Part of being a church community is that we are thinking of others above ourselves (Philippians 2:2-3), and this is one of the ways you can do that.
(3) What if I don’t follow the guidelines?
We’ll need grace for each other with the different tensions that the guidelines are going to create.
It’s important to remember we have put the guidelines in place for physical services to help ensure that our services are a safe place for everyone, particularly those who are at a higher risk. We ask that you consider honouring the guidelines as a way of honouring the community.
If you feel you cannot do that then please talk to us – let us know why you’re unable to follow the guidelines. We would like to talk it through with you. But we will ask you to engage through our online streaming until you can follow them.
(4) What if someone else isn’t following the guidelines?
Firstly, remember to look at the plank in your own eye before you go and help a brother or sister with the speck in their eye (Matthew 7:1-5)! Secondly, let’s err on the side of grace, particularly if this is the first time you notice something. Of course mention it to the person, but do it in a helpful, kind and supportive way, not in a way that points the finger.
If you feel your brother or sister is persistently going against the guidelines and by doing so is endangering and disrespecting others please follow the advice of Matthew 18:15-20 – try first to deal with the issue directly with the other person. If they won’t listen, bring in another person who might be able to help; if that doesn’t work, bring it to the church (and therefore the leadership team).
(5) What if I have children who don’t/can’t physically distance?
With children we need to be realistic in what is and isn’t possible, and look to the spirit of the law over the letter of the law in all things. We recognise this is challenging and we want to be there to help. We are asking parents to take responsibility in ensuring their children follow the guidelines.
We will be following up with a separate set up of guidelines as we finalise timings for the children’s work in the church. The start date for Den and Treehouse is still undergoing consideration.
If you’re unsure about how you will manage or what the best course of action is, do get in contact with our children’s worker Hannah, or Tim who oversees our children’s team.
(6) What if I feel ‘isolated’ or ‘different’ or ‘in the minority?
We’re called to accept one another and not to judge one another, whether we feel like the ‘stronger’ or ‘weaker’ brother or sister described in Romans 14. Our consciences may vary and some of us may find we’re acting in a way that seems to be in the minority; and it can feel like we’re being judged, or we don’t belong. That mustn’t be the case!
We ask those who are not finding it hard to consider those who might be. Let’s not put a stumbling block in their way. We’re to be gentle and kind, considerate and thoughtful. If your actions are harming another, please think about how you can act differently.
If you are finding it hard, it’s important not to despise others who are not, but to love them and respect their choice.
Paul gives us a nice summary of how we should act in Romans 14:19-20:
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of…(Covid restrictions)
(7) What if I want to only do online church?
That is absolutely fine and we’re delighted you can still engage. We do think that meeting physically with others is important, even in some capacity. So consider whether a weekly life group or a city group or meeting to pray physically distanced with one other Christian friend is something you could do each week. Online church is a great option for when we can’t meet together, but it can’t be a complete substitute from physically meeting with other believers. So do think through how you can value the smaller community context.
(8) What if I am if I am in relationship and want to sit next to my partner in church?
We appreciate that many non-married couples are now having regular physical contact and acting as a household cluster in their daily life so coming to a church service and being asked to separate is a bit odd, and potentially unnecessary. We recognise this and so if couples want to sit together during church services we want to facilitate that. The same applies for those who live separately from their nuclear family but would like to sit next to them in church.
(9) What if I have a suggestion or some feedback or a further question?
Please let us know.
- Andrew Ngaditono is overseeing the overall guidelines
- Vanessa Kelada is overseeing the practicalities of Sundays and volunteers teams
- Maffy Baskin is overseeing any pastoral care needs that arise
- Tim Gaston is overseeing all of the children’s work
- I (Steve Vaughan) am trying to handle the overall communications and lessons from this time
So please don’t hesitate to get in contact, either directly with one of the people mentioned or by emailing hello@christcitychurch.ie.